We need an end to pesky calls from recordings

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, December 17, 2008

We've all gotten these calls -- "Hello, this is Don and we want to help you reduce your credit debt."

We all know that Don is not on the line, but you are listening to a recorded message. Push one and you might talk to a real human.

Thanks to the Federal Trade Commission, those interruptions at dinner time may slacken. Under the new rules, the "caller" must give you the option of having your name removed from the list ... at least that's the way it's supposed to work.

We certainly had enough of the so-called "robo-calls" during the recent election campaign.

Recorded messages from candidate A are the last thing we wanted to hear.

We already have a "do not call" list which spares us from any irritating calls, but unfortunately the robo-calls are not subject to the same barrier.

We think they should be. We have a telephone for our personal use and for the use of our friends, not for the hawking of products or same faceless candidate.

Having your phone number unlisted doesn't protect you from these pests, either. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says that the political calls could be subject to the existing rules and would not be a denial of free speech. To us, that seems most obvious.